Finding Christmas Spirit
by HowAboutThat
Summary: Skimbleshanks doesn't really like Christmas all that much. He doesn't hate it, but he certainly doesn't love it either. Admetus makes it his goal to make Skimbleshanks catch the Christmas spirit, but who knows if he'll succeed. Ages and pairs are undecided for now. Kits is generally birth-15ish so it's kinda broad. Read and, most importantly, review, please.
1. Attempt: Mistletoe

HAT: ... it had to be done! It's Christmas season. I felt the need to do this even though I don't think cats would really celebrate, but hey! Some of them live part-time with humans so... yeah... This should be interesting. At the end you guys should let me know who I should shove Skimble with.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing aside from the plot and OCs. CATS is _NOT_ mine.**

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><p>"I love Christmas!" a certain brownish-grey, brownish-grey eyes alight with excitement as he jumps onto an orange tabby and rests his head on the orange shoulder. "Don't you?"<p>

Glass-green eyes don't look up from the paperwork as he grumbles, "Not really... will you quit moving, Addy? I've got paperwork."

Admetus frowns. "S-Skimble? Whaddoyoumean you don't like Christmas?"

A sigh. "I mean what I say. I don't really like Christmas."

"_Why _don't you like Christmas?"

He shrugs. "It's not really Christmas exactly, it's the entire Christmas season and the last week of before it... especially Christmas Eve," he grumbles, blowing his head fur away from his eyes, but it lands back where it was. He sighs and ignores his untamed head fur and allows it to hang in his eyes. "I have to work double-time and the humans are doing last minute trips and dragging their presents onboard and the cats too. I don't have time to get presents or spend time with anyone and it's all so depressing that I'm not around to help make cookies with you kits or tease my sister or threaten Lyon or anything I got to do before I took Head Railway Cat position."_  
><em>

Admetus hugs Skimbleshanks as best he can with his arms being already around the tom's neck, a pout on his face. "I'm sorry..." And then his eyes light up and he grins. "I'm gonna make this the best Christmas for you."

Skimble reaches up and pats the younger tom's head. "I have fine Christmas', Addy."

"That isn't gonna change my mind!" declares the tom-kit before taking off.

With a chuckle the marmalade tom watches the kit's retreat. "I wonder how he plans to accomplish that..."

He finishes his paperwork and runs his fingers through his head fur. He decides that whatever it looks like is how it will look for the rest of the day, trying to tame it into it's usual slicked back fashion be damned. He glances into the mirror as he exits and remembers exactly where Pouncival got his wild hair from (A/N: I made a drawing of him on DeviantArt (I am very proud of it (especially that hair)) and you can find the link of my account on my profile). He doesn't bother with it and walks out the door only to run into a queen with vibrant red fur.

"I'm sorry, Bomba," he mutters as he steadies her.

"No problem..." Bombalurina assures only to trail off.

Her eyes are focused above his head and his eyebrows come together in confusion. "What is it?"

"Since when do you use mistletoe?"

"I don't," he says.

She points up. "Apparently you do."

He looks up and his green eyes widen and immediately he thinks of the tom-kit that just left his home. "Addy..."

"He did this?"

"I'm assuming," he mutters. After a moment of silence he looks down and she has an expecting look. "What?"

"You're supposed to kiss me," she reminds. "We're under the mistletoe."

He rolls his eyes. "You know we don't have tooo..." he trails off at her raised eyebrow. "You're not going to let me get out of my doorway unless I kiss you, are you?"

She shakes her head and he sighs lightly. "And make it a good one." When he kisses her cheek her eyebrow raises again and he heaves a sigh.

_Queens,_ he thinks before his finger lifts her head up by her chin and he bends down to kiss her. It's firm and one filled with an odd mixture of annoyance, excitement, and some weird type of love (friendship, it could be assumed, but for one a bit of a crush) and a sense of obligation (A/N: Who wants to guess which emotions came from who?). When he pulls away Bombalurina has an impressed look on her face with her mouth downturned and eyebrows raised while she nods.

"Satisfied?" the Railway Cat asks.

"Very."

He walks past her, looking for Admetus and finally manages to find him hiding behind his mother with a proud smile on his face. Jellylorum's emerald eyes lift up from her crocheting in curiosity at her friend to see an explanation to why her son is grinning in such a way (A/N: Fun fact about me: I can crochet and I'm in the process of making a (lap) blanket for... undecided, but it's gonna be someone).

"That was a tricky thing you did, Admetus," Skimble scolds.

"Did it make your Christmas season better?"

Glass-green eyes roll. "Not really."

Admetus pouts. "Oh... well, don't worry! I'll make this season the best you ever had!"

When the tom-kit runs off the orange tabby plops down beside his friend. "Your son is interesting..."

"You told him that you didn't really like Christmas?" A nod. "You shouldn't have done that. Now he's gonna try until he makes it better for you... or, perhaps, Christmas day."

"He's as stubborn as you, he may do this for years..."

The young queen giggles. "That's your fault."

"Hm..."

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><p>HAT: I'm here with Lyon! We're gonna tell you <strong>what you should do<strong> for the story to continue.

Lyon: Hey, guys. Um, so this is, more or less, something that you guys control. Basically you've got three options and you have twenty-four hours after the story is updated to pick one of the multiple choice answers and then she'll write it.

HAT: Since it takes a while to write, I've gotta give a major time constraint since I want to get this finished by Christmas, but you never know.

Lyon: What's the question?

HAT: Actually there's two, and one of them isn't multiple choice.

Lyon: And the questions?

HAT: What should Addy's next plan be?

Lyon: That's not multiple choice.

HAT: Yes, I know. This one is. Who should Skimble end up with in the story?

Lyon: Okay, and the choices are: A) Tugger, B) Bomba, C) Addy, D) Vicky, E) Deme, F) Munkus, G) Tanto, H) Cori, or I) OC?

HAT: Yep. And the OC will just be pulled somewhere in my mind. Alright-y then. Since that's it, I'll give you twenty-four hours starting now.


	2. Attempt: Paint

HAT: Sorry it took a while to get this, but I had stuff that I had to do so... yeah... Also there's no pairings selected, but it's been narrowed down. The chapter after this will be one told to me by one of you. You guys come up with another scenario for me while you enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: I own nothing aside from the plot and OCs. CATS is _NOT_ mine.**

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><p>"Skimble... Skimble! <em>Skimbleshanks!<em>"

Said tom blinks and stares into irritated silver, amber, and chocolate brown eyes. "W-what?"

He notices that each of them is covered in paint and have an angered look on their face. Immediately he starts thinking of how this can be brought back to him and what he could have possibly done to have been the cause of this, but he cannot think of anything, which leaves him sitting there, looking at them, dumbfounded.

"You told the kits about that prank you pulled on Ruthenbalt, didn't you?!" Jennyanydots demands, pointing a, now, accusing red finger at him.

His eyebrows shoot up and he thinks back to a few days before when he had told them and realization dawns on him. "Oh... I didn't think they'd do it."

Rum Tum Tugger shakes his hand and green and red paint flies off. "_This _is because of you!"

"But... I didn't think that they'd actually do it since we can find out who it is easily. Who was scented there?"

"It's hard to smell over the paint," Munkustrap informs, wiping red paint from his mouth.

Skimbleshanks sighs and gets up, having them lead him to where they were.

He grumbles under his breath about how it is not his fault, but he does not believe that they are going to relieve him of the blame. He has no control over whether or not they apply his stories and use them for their own mischievous amusement, he merely tells them a story. How they believe they will get out of trouble, he does not know since he tells them of the consequences that he faced after pulling such a prank at the end of the story in hopes of discouraging them, but obviously it does not always work the way he wants it to.

He blinks in surprise at the strongest scent, though all of the kittens were in on it. "Christmas colors... Admetus... he must've been the mastermind behind this entire thing..." He bursts into laughter at the thought of the kit orchestrating this entire scheme with the precision he knows must've gone into it and of the ridiculousness of the three with paint drying on their fur only to get hit my his sister in the back of his head. He gingerly rubs the back of his head and glares playfully at his sister. "What? It's not my fault he's trying to make Christmas amazing to me."

"You didn't _have _to tell him you didn't really like Christmas," Tugger complains.

A shrug. "I didn't want to lie to the kit... now you have fun with... that," he says, gesturing to their general direction.

"Skimble!" each cry, but he's already around the corner and walking towards the clearing.

He chuckles, a mischievous glint in his eye. The kits only know of a small part of his kittenhood mischief, but they don't know the extent to the mischief that he'll cause now. Already he feels himself about to be inspired with something to do with a number of cats.

_Perhaps I could mess with Lyon later?_

"How'd you like the Christmas colors, Skimble?"

Skimble blinks and looks down at the kitten for the cause of three cats being upset at him for telling of a prank he pulled when he was younger. "They were alright."

"Is Christmas better?"

With a sigh the older tom ruffles Admetus' head fur as he walks by. "Sorry, kit, but it only made me amused for a little while. Good luck with avoiding those three, they know you're the mastermind."

Admetus yelps behind him. "W-what?"

"Have fun with all of that," chuckles Skimbleshanks as he gives him a wave of his long brown tail. "I'll see you again, lad."

"_Admetus!_"

"Crap!"

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><p>HAT: I dunno how this came into my head, but it did.<p>

Tugger: *picks dried paint off of his mane* Well, that's just great...

HAT: *giggles* You look good in Christmas colors.

Tugger: *rolls eyes* Yeah, right. *looks down at fur and huffs* Aren't you supposed to be doing something?

HAT: *grins* Yep! I'm still looking for some suggestions on what could happen in future chapters since I don't know how long this is going to be. No promises that everyone's is going to be used, but... you know. Tugger, could you tell them the cats that remain from last chapter?

Tugger: Munkustrap, Bombalurina, Cori, OC, and... me again? Didn't you already do the me and Skimble thing?

HAT: *shrugs* Yeah, but... yeah.

Tugger: **You know what to do to keep this fanfiction going... _REVIEW_!**


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